Factors Influencing the Enhancement of the Infectivity of Poliovirus Ribonucleic Acid by Diethylaminoethyl-Dextran

The enhancement by diethylaminoethyl-dextran (DEAE-D) of the infectivity of poliovirus ribonucleic acid (RNA) for cell cultures was demonstrated by infective-center as well as by plaque assays, both in nonprimate (L) and primate cell systems (MK, HeLa, LLC-MK(2)). The sensitivity of plaque assays was greatly improved by using a tris (hydroxymethyl)aminomethane-buffered synthetic medium (basal medium Eagle) and freshly confluent cell monolayers. Enhancement of nucleic acid infectivity was directly dependent on the molecular weight of the DEAE-D. Two observations bearing on the action of DEAE-D appeared important: ribonuclease activity was reduced by DEAE-D, and cells pretreated with DEAE-D remained susceptible to infection with RNA in isotonic medium. Appreciable susceptibility of the treated cells persisted for at least 2 hr; the susceptible state could be reversed at will by an application of heparin. Enhancement of nucleic acid infectivity was independent of an effect of DEAE-D on intact virus and agar inhibitors.